Outsmart Your Instincts

This book is a good read whether you are familiar with cognitive biases or not. It goes beyond the normal definitions and onto practical tools which can be used to become aware of and overcome the biases of yourself and those around you to drive your business/ideas forward.

There are some very interesting illustrations about how the various points raised work in a real life setting, along with plenty of ideas to work on.

I’m not sure that I’m the main target audience for this book since I work alone, or with others remotely through the computer and the activities are geared towards physical groups of people, but I was able to take a lot away from it and will find the techniques very helpful when adapted to my situation slightly. The biases highlighted are of course still applicable even when working alone, and the solutions can be worked through by myself or with some willing victims/ volunteers. I can also see how the principles in this book can be applied to aspects of my personal life.

I look forward to putting the exercises into action – there is a lot here to think about and this book will stay with me for some time.